


In the last days of wonder

by LadyMina



Category: Be Cool Scooby Doo! (Cartoon 2015), Scooby Doo - All Media Types
Genre: Friendship, Gen, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-08
Updated: 2018-03-08
Packaged: 2019-03-28 10:03:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13901700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyMina/pseuds/LadyMina
Summary: Getting a proper reaction from her was an art form in itself.





	In the last days of wonder

**Author's Note:**

> Story is set kind of in the middle and the end of the first episode of Be Cool Scooby Doo, and the personalities are based mostly on that incarnation of the characters. This is the first time I write anything for Scooby Doo, so please excuse any ooc business here, and since English isn't my native language I'm sorry about any grammar mistakes too.

“I hurt books.”

Fred rolled his eyes for the umpteenth time since they had entered the broom closet. Considering how none of them had gotten hurt after the ghost of Kingston’s founder had decided it would be very nice indeed to add them to the growing list of people being scared away from the university, not a single scraped knee, bloody cut, hurt bone or limb bending in an unnatural direction, who cared if they had destroyed the library in the process?

It should have been the least of her worries, anyway. Yes, the several dozens of bookshelves had fallen like a row of dominoes in a cloud of dust and paper, throwing hundred of books in the air like confetti. And yes, they had ended up on the floor, piled up like dead leaves, many of them clearly damaged.

But all the damage could be undone. The volumes could be fixed or replaced, while a human life certainly couldn’t.

 _The historical value_ , Velma had said with such concern one would say she was talking about a dead relative. _Such a prestigious institution had to have some irreplaceable tomes on its private library_ , she insisted.

They had escaped relatively unscathed and that was all that mattered to him. And yet it was clear where her skewed priorities laid, because the moment he dared mention how they weren’t an inch closer to solving the mystery she practically accused him of being the most selfish person on the face of the earth.

Well, he had to admit he hadn’t been able to resist offering their help when a new mystery had been so nicely presented to them, but of course it had been with her best interests in mind. Velma surely knew if he had shut up as she had asked him to and let her claim her spot in silence, she’d have to deal with the place either shutting down or being sued for fraud later, and the bitter drinks had to be taken quick. 

Fred’s very valid reasons didn’t matter in the end, and honestly when she was this upset it felt really close to talking to a wall.

*

Of all possible ways of stopping an argument and clearing out some differences before things got really ugly, it had to be through Daphne’s silly puppets. Still he was deeply thankful she had decided to intervene and allowed them to cool down and focus on the bigger problem at hand.

Fred knew he’d have to apologize later, of course, never mind how nauseous the mere thought of it made him. It wasn’t because he felt above it, but because he was half expecting her to react with some sarcastic remark and a thinly veiled insult, which would in turn prompt him to roll his eyes and mumble, asking her to forget what he said.

She was such a difficult person to deal with, sometimes. Then again, Velma had been his first real friend in a long time before meeting the rest of the gang, and the least he owed her was a real apology after endangering her education.

Never mind he was a hundred percent sure there would be no place to get said education if he hadn’t opened that big mouth of his.

*

Getting a proper reaction from her was an art form in itself, and as such needed the proper preparation. Which meant that when they reached the next town he proposed to stop by a bookstore in his most nonchalant voice, fully aware Velma would see right through him but play along anyway.

Once the rest of the gang was out of sight, he cleared his throat and smiled as she turned to him. “I need some help with a book.”

“Is it another code breaking guide or are we going to pretend we’re normal people for a moment here?”

“It’s only a novel, but I can ask some guy working here if you’re too busy, though.”

“There’s no such thing as only a novel,” she mumbled and then grabbed his arm, pushing him deeper into the bookstore. “I have the organization system memorized for this particular chain of bookstores, so just tell me what you’re looking for.”

His smile only broadened when, consciously or not, she took the bait and ran away with it as far as her legs would take her, shrugging and saying any mystery or crime novel would be perfect, maybe a favorite of hers she had forgotten to mention before.

Some minutes later and he was pulling up books from the highest shelves she couldn’t reach, watching her either nod approvingly and recite a very detailed summary plus her opinion on it, or shake her head and ask him to put it back on its place. Fred ended with about ten books on his hands to choose from, none of them even remotely familiar to him, Velma looking in pretty good spirits.

“I think you have a pretty good selection to choose from, and if you are short on money I could ask Daphne if she - “

“I’m taking these two,” he cut her off and put two random books on her hands while putting the others on the bookshelves. “Thanks, Velma. Now, there’s some other thing I wanted to tell you.”

“Hmm.”

“I’m sorry for the whole thing back at Kingston. I know you asked us not to mess up, and we almost ruined your chance of studying there forever.”

She simply stared at him with that inscrutable face of hers.

“I know you changed your mind in the end, and what you told the dean was very sweet and all, but – yeah, I guess we didn’t try to help you that much.”

“Almost falling from the roof must have truly affected you,” she lifted an eyebrow, but the corners of her lips were twitching upwards. “It’s okay, Freddie. I meant what I said, you guys are more important to me than any college.”

He let out a sigh of relief. “So we’re good?”

“Yes, it’s fine,” she offered him a tiny but sincere smile. “Are you actually planning on reading those books, or were they just an excuse to get me in a good mood?”

“You know me too well, Velms,” he smiled too. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt giving them a chance, see if I can solve the mystery before the official explanation in the end.” 

Fred let out a chuckle when she rolled her eyes with a sigh; it was pretty evident the mood had moved towards a better, more peaceful place now, and no amount of eye rolling and frustrated looks would convince him otherwise, especially since she was currently pulling him to the next corridor and using him as a shopping cart, merrily piling up more books on his arms as they got closer to the bored guy behind the front desk.

**Author's Note:**

> Title comes from Tesla's Hotel Room, a song by The Handsome Family. It has nothing to do with the story, but since it's about a scientist I thought it would be appropriate.


End file.
